Hello everybody !

[Ironman]

Although I'm new to this site and discus. I'm not new to keeping fish. I have been keeping African cichlids for 20 years.time for change, I still have many African tanks, mostly tangs. I do weekly water changes 70/80%. I have emptied out a 125 that has been running for 4 years, and want to make it a discus/hypan tank.

My question is I did a 200% water change rinsed out the filter removed the substrate. I how long should I wait before introducing a group of discus?

[DiscusLoverJeff]

As long as it is still cycled and you did not scrub it 100% clean, it should still be cycled. Did you rinse the sponges in tap water or in aquarium water? Did you clean the filter media in tap water?

Until you test your water parameters, you can't really know. Maybe give it a week and see if everything is stable. Are you going to add anything to the tank to cycle it before introducing discus?

Few questions to help you determine if all is ok.

Pictures soon I hope. Good luck.

[Kal-El]

I would PP the tank or bleach it to ensure all traces of parasites are gone from the tank. After a day of drying rinse it good multiple times and than you can cycle the tank using Pure Aquarium bacteria balls (link (http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?98448-Pure-Aquarium-Balls) or link 2 (http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?96202-PURE-AQUARIUM-bacteria-is-here)). You can actually put in Discus in your tank right away when using these balls to cycle your tank.

[Poco]

I would PP the tank or bleach it to ensure all traces of parasites are gone from the tank. After a day of drying rinse it good multiple times and than you can cycle the tank using Pure Aquarium bacteria balls (link (http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?98448-Pure-Aquarium-Balls) or link 2 (http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?96202-PURE-AQUARIUM-bacteria-is-here)). You can actually put in Discus in your tank right away when using these balls to cycle your tank.

+1

[Ironman]

Thanks for the reply. I rinsed everything under
Under tap water. Remove all the decora except the substrate
I plan on doing that tonite. I don't plan on putting anything in the tank to help cycle it. The tank has been running for 4 yrs or so wouldn't that be good enough or is the bacteria different ?

[Northwoods Discus]

By using tap water with chlorine in it you may have killed your bio.

[DiscusLoverJeff]

By using tap water with chlorine in it you may have killed your bio.

+1

[Kal-El]

Thanks for the reply. I rinsed everything under
Under tap water. Remove all the decora except the substrate
I plan on doing that tonite. I don't plan on putting anything in the tank to help cycle it. The tank has been running for 4 yrs or so wouldn't that be good enough or is the bacteria different ?

Me personally I would nuke everything with PP including filters and equipment and start the cycle over using the Pure Aquarium bacteria balls. Bacteria and parasites that your previous fish were immune too could cause serious issue with your future Discus. These bacteria and parasites are still in your cycle filter, therefore the reason to nuke everything.

[Ironman]

Understood, what is PP?

[Poco]

Potassium permanganate.

[DiscusLoverJeff]

You can buy it at most hardware stores.

http://www.discountfilterstore.com/potassium-permanganate-pro-products-kf02n.html?url=http://www.discountfilterstore.com/potassium-permanganate-pro-products-kf02n.html%3Ffsource%3Dgooglebase&trackingID=googlebase&gclid=CLLZvJaAh7YCFUhgMgodN1UA2A

But one bottle this size will last you a lifetime of fish keeping.

You can search this website for the formula for mixing it and using it.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?70066-Using-Potassium-Permanganate-aka-PP&highlight=Potassium+permanganate

[derunren]

welcome to simply Ironman of ECC.

[Ironman]

Thank you for all the positive feed back. Ill be
Sure to post pics once they get settled in.

[strawberryblonde]

Meh, I just use handy dandy bleach rather than PP. Cheap, easy and it's right in my kitchen cupboard. lol

Just add a cup of two of bleach to the tank after you remove the substrate, fill it up, turn on the filters and run them for an hour, then scrub around the rim and any edges that aren't under water, drain, rinse, fill, drain, rinse, fill and then add a triple dose of Prime to the tank to neutralize any remaining bleach and to thoroughly neutralize the filters.

Let that sit for a day, then drain and refill. You shouldn't smell any bleach in the water once it's refilled. If you do, add more prime and wait another day to drain again.

It's a lot easier with smaller tanks that you can haul outside to clean, but the bleach, drain, fill, rinse is how I do it in my big tank and it works perfectly well.

Once it's all sterilized you can either use pure ammonia to cycle the filters, or purchase the Aquarium balls or Dr. Tim's to cycle it. Both of those products allow you to add fish immediately. The other option for cycling is to purchase a couple of seeded sponge filters from the same discus supplier where you plan to purchase your fish. They can go straight into the tank when the fish arrive and you'll have a nicely cycled tank.